One backer's thoughts

[Review or Die]

Hi all,

 

I've backed Project Eternity, and I'm really excited for it. I love Obsidian's writing, and the idea of this team having complete freedom in what they create is so exciting. Knights of the Old Republic 2 is unequivocally my favorite RPG. I've really enjoyed Planescape Torment, I started Icewind Dale 1 & 2 over the last few weeks, and I played Baldur's Gate when I was a kid... but I can see some issues with them that could be improved, without changing the game dramatically. My issue isn't with the writing, but some of the interface and gameplay.

 

I'm not saying Project Eternity should be different from an Infinity Engine game, and I know it won't be. That's why I backed it, it's the game the team wants to make and I want to play! But there are things that I hope will be different in Project Eternity from past RPGs, and I just want to share them. I really do want to stress that asking for these changes does not seem like I'm asking the team to change things integral to the Infinity Engine experience.

 

1. Inventory slot tetris is, not to put too fine a point on it, something that had me screaming at the computer when I played Baldur's Gate. I really dislike carrying capacity as a concept, but the unimmersive nature of inventory slots drives me insane. If there has to be carrying capacity at all, I would rather it be based solely on weight.

 

2. Related to that first point about the inventory: I would truly enjoy having both the name and picture of the item visible simultaneously, so I did not have to mouse over an item or click to determine what exactly it is.

 

3. I love companions in Obsidian games. Understanding their past, their motivation, their torment, their views on life... I could rave about Knights of the Old Republic 2's companions forever. But it would be, I think, more immersive if certain dialogue options weren't available in public. Seeing you and a companion talk together in the privacy of an inn about the companion's past he's not proud of would make much more sense than doing so in the middle of a town square. You get more options for atmosphere, music and staging that way on top of it, even if all that means is that a character walks to the the window and looks out as they talk to you.

 

4. I know there have been no comments about what romance options are available, whether they would be available with companions or not, but there is an aspect of videogame romance which has always gotten under my skin a little. There are times in games where a romance is 'done', and you have exhausted all dialogue options, and the game continues unchanged. It would be nice, if romance exists, that it impact the game beyond the dialogue tree. It frustrates me to see them marginalized.

 

5. Character portraits. One of my issues with characters in the Infinity engine or Fallout 1/2, and maybe other people don't have this issue, is that I have some trouble telling who characters are from the small models, especially at the angle they're typically presented in. With a static portrait of the character you're speaking to made visible during dialogue, we'd be able to get more information communicated about them through their appearance, and make it easier to recognize the hundred-plus named characters we'll see in the game. I'm not saying a full-body portrait is necessary for everyone, but a bust-shot would help tremendously and add a lot to the visuals of the game.

 

6. I understand Josh Sawyer's predisposition to historical accuracy in design, which creates for an incredibly immersive type of world. It's something I'm really looking forward to seeing in this new setting. From a design perspective, it can limit and homogenize weapon types. I'm just hoping that it won't be the case here, either from a skill design or treasure placement perspective. It would be really nice if longbows and swords weren't the be-all end-all of weapon types, that's all.

 

7. This has nothing to do with Infinity Engine games, but the crafting system implemented in Project Eternity I've played games with crafting systems, and... well, the truly customizable ones always break, making it a given that you would invest in crafting because the items you create will always be the some of the most powerful in the game, with 'found' treasure often ending up in the dust. It ruins much of the specialness of unique magic items and can really upset game balance. I love breaking the game as much as anyone, and I couldn't begin to tell you how to to balance a crafting system, but KOTOR2's is the closest to balance I've seen in a game. It afforded more customizability rather than overpowering the characters, and found or bought treasure such as the weapons or lightsaber ctystals was still important.

 

8. I would appreciate the ability to tell a character to move to a location, remain there, then take an action, without having to pause the game after I've had them move and tell them to attack like in Icewind Dale.

 

9. This is such a small thing, but I have to say it. I would appreciate it if I did not have to mouse over the clock to see what time it is. It never added anything to the experience for me.

 

10. I realize I am asking for a break in immersion, but if the New Vegas style quest log type of functionality is not being implemented where you have a list of the 'tasks' you have unlocked along with a description... please provide a search function for the journal so I do not have to look through every single page for a critical piece of information. An index, names for the entries, a straight 'type what you're looking for', something.

 

That's my list. No big changes there, I think, just suggestions. Much of what I had hoped would be corrected, such as the resting system, moving away from Vanician magic, giving fighters more to do than just hitting people, have already been put in to place. I have a lot of faith in Obsidian and the design team, and I hope this is viewed in the spirit it was intended in: suggestions in the hopes of playing a game that's better than the old Infinity Engine games, without changing what makes them Infinity Engine style games. I can't wait to play Project Eternity!

[Shades]

... You think BG had inventory slot tetris? That isn't inventory slot tetris, inventory slot tetris is when you have a grid of squares for your inventory and each item takes up a certain number of squares. Hence the 'tetris' part (you have to find ways to fit different sized items in, though unlike tetris you can't rotate items). I found the IE inventory style preferable, though I can see what you mean if you say, had your inventory full of small items like scrolls or potions (though in the BG2 expansion Throne of Bhaal I believe you got potion and ammo bags as well as the BG2 gem bags and scroll cases).

 

I'm not sure how feasible having characters walk to a window to talk would be since a lot of PC-companion conversations (at least in the IE games) are timed and therefore can come up in almost any location. Maybe they could have a character walk away/not trigger if non-companion NPCs are within a certain radius of them or not mention such things in cities/towns, but ehh...

 

I... Think that BG2 did have character portraits (if the NPC had one) beside names when characters were talking? (If that's what you're asking for.) Or maybe that was from a mod I had. I remember Bodhi having one.

 

I'm guessing you mean you want to see the time just displayed instead of the clock? Hm, I wonder if they could assign a key to show the time, that way you just press a key to show it and the clock itself is still there.

 

I hope for a nice and clear journal/quest log too where I can easily figure out what I have left to do and possibly what I have/haven't done in a quest so far.

[Lysen]

You didn't like playing inventory slot tetris???

[Remmirath]

I actually like the grid inventory and having to mouse over or right-click the inventory items to see what they are. I'd call Neverwinter Nights' inventory more of slot tetris, since the items are of varying sizes there.

 

The conversation thing is interesting, but I'm not sure it would work all that well in this type of game -- but if it would, eh, it makes sense that some wouldn't want to talk in a crowded area and what (although I'd say that a remote forest or ruin is probably more private than many inns). I've never been keen on romances, so I've no comment on that.

 

Baldur's Gate II has small portraits in the dialogue for the important NPCs (Bodhi, Irenicus, the recruitable ones, that sort). Neverwinter Nights had them in all dialogues, but that was a fairly different UI and dialogue interface. Personally, I'm fine not seeing the portrait most of the time. It's neat to see it for the major NPCs, but if they don't have them, that's also okay by me.

 

As to six, going for historical accuracy would actually get you more weapons than seen in many games -- people tend to focus on the longbows and various sword types, but there are quite a wide array of other weapons that had historical usage in a similar time period (although not always in the same locale or the exact same time). Axes, maces and other bludgeoning weapons, quarterstaffs, picks, a fairly wide variety of polearms, daggers, crossbows, and various throwing weapons were all in use in Europe during the middle ages, for instance, and when you add in weapons commonly found in other areas it's definitely quite a variety.

And they certainly don't all require the same skills to use, or have the same effects (bludgeoning weapons and picks are significantly more effective against plate than swords, for instance). So, I'm all for historical accuracy of arms and armour. One thing I'd personally really like to see is shields being useful, both for defending and for shield bashes and beating weapons aside.

 

Crafting... yeah, that's part of the reason I've never been too keen on crafting (another part being that I often find the requirements for it a bit annoying). I basically agree with this one, though.

 

So you want to tell the character to move, and then assume that they'll attack anything that comes near them? I thought that if you left the party AI on it would take care of that in the Infinity Engine games, but honestly, I usually leave that off so I probably am misremembering that.

 

I don't mind having to mouse over the clock and I might find the number always being there annoying, but I expect I don't really care between the two methods, or wouldn't once I got used to it.

 

Search function for the journal seems reasonable and useful. It may well be odd of me that I sort of enjoy paging through the journal to figure out old quests that I haven't taken care of yet, but that's clearly something that wouldn't have to be used (even I admit that can get frustrating).

[Stun]

9. This is such a small thing, but I have to say it. I would appreciate it if I did not have to mouse over the clock to see what time it is. It never added anything to the experience for me.

Eh? As long as a game has a day/night cycle, with lighting effects that accurately project "dawn", "dusk", "sunset" etc. you really don't need a digital clock in the game at all, do you?

 

That being the case, I think it's cool that the IE games allowed you access to such specific info if you wanted it.... which means hovering your cursor over the button. But I for one, would not wish for the UI to be cluttered with such info by default.

[Shades]

Neverwinter Nights had them in all dialogues, but that was a fairly different UI and dialogue interface. Personally, I'm fine not seeing the portrait most of the time. It's neat to see it for the major NPCs, but if they don't have them, that's also okay by me.

 

The main problem with NWN was that they just.... Reused the same portraits over and over and over again. They gave you a nice selection at the start of the game (unlike BG where you could pretty much only choose from ones that already belonged to companion NPCs and the start tutorial summons, meaning you were probably going to run into 1 person with your portrait during the whole game), but no matter what you chosein NWN (unless you went for a custom one) you'd almost certainly see your characters portrait used more than once during the game. I found that annoying and preferred only important characters to have portraits.

[BruceVC]

9. This is such a small thing, but I have to say it. I would appreciate it if I did not have to mouse over the clock to see what time it is. It never added anything to the experience for me.

Eh? As long as a game has a day/night cycle, with lighting effects that accurately project "dawn", "dusk", "sunset" etc. you really don't need a digital clock in the game at all, do you?

 

That being the case, I think it's cool that the IE games allowed you access to such specific info if you wanted it.... which means hovering your cursor over the button. But I for one, would not wish for the UI to be cluttered with such info by default.

 

Couldn't you just have a button that hides the clock? And just like that your cluttered issue is resolved

[Remmirath]

Neverwinter Nights had them in all dialogues, but that was a fairly different UI and dialogue interface. Personally, I'm fine not seeing the portrait most of the time. It's neat to see it for the major NPCs, but if they don't have them, that's also okay by me.

 

The main problem with NWN was that they just.... Reused the same portraits over and over and over again. They gave you a nice selection at the start of the game (unlike BG where you could pretty much only choose from ones that already belonged to companion NPCs and the start tutorial summons, meaning you were probably going to run into 1 person with your portrait during the whole game), but no matter what you chosein NWN (unless you went for a custom one) you'd almost certainly see your characters portrait used more than once during the game. I found that annoying and preferred only important characters to have portraits.

 

Yeah, I agree. I do prefer only the important characters to have them, but Neverwinter Nights is an example of a game where everybody had them (which I intended as a negative example of why it's not necessarily a good thing, but looking back on what I wrote, I didn't actually make that at all clear). I myself almost always end up using a custom portrait if the option is available, so I never did run into the "this guy looks like my character!" problem, but I'd rather just imagine most of the characters than have the same portrait for a whole bunch of villagers.

[Review or Die]

Shades, my frustration was with moving things from character to character in the hoping of getting things to fit in my inventory, hoping I could stack things, wondering why my mage was so stupid he couldn't carry scrolls despite the weight not being an issue. It's tetris when I'm scrambling to get things to fit on to my characters. Inventory slots are an enormous pain that are just not worth the trouble.

 

Stun, why should I have to mouse over to see the clock? It's a waste of time, and the bulky clock shown in most IE games does little but take up space without much use.

 

Overall, I think if you have character portraits then every single character named character should have a static portrait, not just a few key characters. Maybe that's not possible, but that would certainly be my preference, so that I get some more information about the character communicated in this visual way.

[Stun]

^Thing is, as the IE games themselves evolved, Inventory management was no longer such an issue. BG1 and IWD were both major inventory management headaches for new players, but their sequels, for example, fixed that problem with gem bags, potion and scroll cases, ammo belts, and bags of holding. If after all of that, you still had inventory management problems, then it wasn't the game's fault.

 

Stun, why should I have to mouse over to see the clock?

You mean, to see the time. Because the IE games aren't time-focused games and thus didn't need dedicated space of their own in the UI? That's my guess. That they even had a clock was for flavor purposes, and nothing more. You literally did not need to ever know the time in any of the IE games.

 

PS: those clocks in the IE games were pause buttons. But hey, if hovering your cursor over the clock is such a "waste of time", you could move the tool-tip delay slider all the way down in your game settings, and thus save yourself 100% of your 'wasted" time. Also If I'm not mistaken, hitting the Tab button in BG2 also brings up the time

Edited October 14, 2012 by Stun

[IndiraLightfoot]

To the OP, your nr 1 and nr 7, I certainly agree with. Great post, thanks!

[Tamerlane]

8. I would appreciate the ability to tell a character to move to a location, remain there, then take an action, without having to pause the game after I've had them move and tell them to attack like in Icewind Dale.

This is an interesting one to me.

 

See, the controls of the old IE games (and of DAO and I think NWN2) had a lot of similarities to standard RTS controls. Left click to select. Right click to move. Hold left mouse and drag the cursor to make a selection box. Shift-click on a character/unit to add a character/unit to the present selection. Ctrl-click to remove it. Even the use of 1-to-= to select characters and groupings of characters is similar to the RTS control group.

 

But one thing that is standard in the RTS world that never showed up in the IE games was shift-click to queue commands. Tell a unit to move to an area then shift-right-click somewhere else to have it move there immediately after. Or move to an spot then use an ability. Or use shift in conjunction with the attack command to have your units focus fire specific enemies in succession. Or order a unit to cast a spell then shift-right-click to queue up his retreat immediately after the casting.

 

Basically what you mean, yes?

Edited October 14, 2012 by Tamerlane

[Review or Die]

^Thing is, as the IE games themselves evolved, Inventory management was no longer such an issue. BG1 and IWD were both major inventory management headaches for new players, but their sequels, for example, fixed that problem with gem bags, potion and scroll cases, ammo belts, and bags of holding. If after all of that, you still had inventory management problems, then it wasn't the game's fault.

 

Stun, why should I have to mouse over to see the clock?

You mean, to see the time. Because the IE games aren't time-focused games and thus didn't need dedicated space of their own in the UI? That's my guess. That they even had a clock was for flavor purposes, and nothing more. You literally did not need to ever know the time in any of the IE games.

 

PS: those clocks in the IE games were pause buttons. But hey, if hovering your cursor over the clock is such a "waste of time", you could move the tool-tip delay slider all the way down in your game settings, and thus save yourself 100% of your 'wasted" time. Also If I'm not mistaken, hitting the Tab button in BG2 also brings up the time

If a feature's only ends up being an irritant, and is irritating, and believe me, gem and scrolls bags were plenty irritating and nothing but a workaround, what is the point in having it there at all? I would like a game with no inventory slots because it doesn't interest me to mess around with the inventory over and over again to find scrolls, potions, weapons, or whatever else might be there one by one. I would like the clock to be constantly visible so that I never, ever, ever have to do anything other than look at the clock in the corner, because there is no reason for me to do anything else related to the clock but look at it if there is an actual clock on the UI board.

 

You're arguing a point about the way I should play games that have already come out, which seems redundant. I said what games I played in my post to give an understanding of my base of experience. I'm not suggesting Obsidian go back and change games that already came out that they do not, in fact, own. It seems pretty defensive over the old IE games, and not really conducive to any sort of discussion related to the game I'm suggesting they be implemented in.

 

Tamerlane, you are absolutely correct, queueing would be very useful and that's the phrase I should have used.

[Rabain]

5. Character portraits. One of my issues with characters in the Infinity engine or Fallout 1/2, and maybe other people don't have this issue, is that I have some trouble telling who characters are from the small models, especially at the angle they're typically presented in. With a static portrait of the character you're speaking to made visible during dialogue, we'd be able to get more information communicated about them through their appearance, and make it easier to recognize the hundred-plus named characters we'll see in the game. I'm not saying a full-body portrait is necessary for everyone, but a bust-shot would help tremendously and add a lot to the visuals of the game.

 

In all the IE games major characters including party members all had a portrait that appeared on the left of the dialog screen when they were talking. Minor characters did not; merchants, commoners etc.

 

I made a mod for BG2 that added a portrait for every single npc in the game based on gender and race. I think there were over 2000 images included.

 

For PE I can understand this might be an issue, I got my portraits from random portrait sites, Obsidian would probably want to make them all and that would take considerable time unless they did "generic commoner" and it appeared on every commoner of that gender/race.

 

I like the idea of portraits for all but the practicality of it might be a bit too much.

[Review or Die]

5. Character portraits. One of my issues with characters in the Infinity engine or Fallout 1/2, and maybe other people don't have this issue, is that I have some trouble telling who characters are from the small models, especially at the angle they're typically presented in. With a static portrait of the character you're speaking to made visible during dialogue, we'd be able to get more information communicated about them through their appearance, and make it easier to recognize the hundred-plus named characters we'll see in the game. I'm not saying a full-body portrait is necessary for everyone, but a bust-shot would help tremendously and add a lot to the visuals of the game.

 

In all the IE games major characters including party members all had a portrait that appeared on the left of the dialog screen when they were talking. Minor characters did not; merchants, commoners etc.

 

I made a mod for BG2 that added a portrait for every single npc in the game based on gender and race. I think there were over 2000 images included.

 

For PE I can understand this might be an issue, I got my portraits from random portrait sites, Obsidian would probably want to make them all and that would take considerable time unless they did "generic commoner" and it appeared on every commoner of that gender/race.

 

I like the idea of portraits for all but the practicality of it might be a bit too much.

I'm in the middle of playing Icewind Dale right now, and played Planescape Torment awhile back. I think the portraits you're thinking of for major characters are mods, because it's not what I'm seeing right now when I'm talking to characters who have voice acting. Besides that, yeah, it could be a budgetary issue, but a face can add a whole lot and I'd be remiss not to suggest it. *makes a note to look for your mod when I go to play BG2*

[Stun]

If a feature's only ends up being an irritant, and is irritating, and believe me, gem and scrolls bags were plenty irritating and nothing but a workaround, what is the point in having it there at all?

Extra inventory space is an irritant?

 

The alternative is to do away with inventory all together. Is that what you want? If so, Mass Effect is That way ----->

 

PS: and they aren't "workarounds". They're D&D based magic items that predate the IE games by about 20 years.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Stun

[Review or Die]

If a feature's only ends up being an irritant, and is irritating, and believe me, gem and scrolls bags were plenty irritating and nothing but a workaround, what is the point in having it there at all?

Extra inventory space?

 

The alternative is to do away with inventory all together. Is that what you want?

I'm not sure you really gather the meaning of a question made somewhat fascetiously. My point was that any such feature is not worth implementing if it can otherwise be avoided.

 

You're presenting a false dilemma when saying that it's the only other option to get rid of the inventory. What I want is for inventory slots to be eradicated, gone completely, in every way. I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

[tox1c5lug]

Search option in the Journal would be a neat idea.

[Karranthain]

I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

 

I hated inventory management in those games. It was just one big mess.

 

I'll take inventory tetris over that anytime.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Karranthain

[Stun]

You're presenting a false dilemma when saying that it's the only other option to get rid of the inventory. What I want is for inventory slots to be eradicated, gone completely, in every way. I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

Aaah yes. I knew we were going to get to this point. Slotless inventory. In other words, lets take the Infinity engine's already non-believable inventory system and make it even less believable by not even bothering to implement physical space.

 

Makes sense. Oh, and while we're at it, lets play nice and not call it what it is: DUMBING DOWN

Edited October 14, 2012 by Stun

[Feldoth]

I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

 

I hated inventory management in those games. It was just one big mess.

 

I'll take inventory tetris over that anytime.

 

Easter-egg idea: Actual tetris mini-game using blocks made from items in your inventory.

 

[santanzchild]

I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

 

I hated inventory management in those games. It was just one big mess.

 

I'll take inventory tetris over that anytime.

 

Easter-egg idea: Actual tetris mini-game using blocks made from items in your inventory.

 

 

LOL I would play it ... Just saying

[Review or Die]

I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

 

I hated inventory management in those games. It was just one big mess.

 

I'll take inventory tetris over that anytime.

I never had a problem with it. You could accumulate too much stuff and bog down your inventory, but ideally you're selling it of. To me it's just nice to have more items than less.

 

You're presenting a false dilemma when saying that it's the only other option to get rid of the inventory. What I want is for inventory slots to be eradicated, gone completely, in every way. I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

Aaah yes. I knew we were going to get to this point. Slotless inventory. In other words, lets take the Infinity engine's already non-believable inventory system and make it even less believable by not even bothering to implement physical space.

 

Makes sense. Oh, and while we're at it, lets play nice and not call it what it is: DUMBING DOWN

Of course we were getting to this point. That was the point. I'm not sure you read my original post, honestly, because it seems like you just want to argue. It's not dumbing down, it's removing an irritating limitation and replacing it with something like carry weight, which is A: more believable, B: More fun than an arbitrary limit regardless of whether it's physically possible because it involves less work. I don't want a game to be work, I want it to be challenging from a combat perspective and a resource consumption perspective. When I spend a lot of the game in the inventory screen putzing around, it's not a feature of gameplay, it's just tedious. Anyway, I don't really need to continue responding to your posts if you're going to forego all pretense of discussion.

 

I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

 

I hated inventory management in those games. It was just one big mess.

 

I'll take inventory tetris over that anytime.

I never had a problem with it. You could accumulate too much stuff and bog down your inventory in terms of crafting items, but ideally you're selling things off. To me it's just nice to have more items than less, because you have more options on how to play the game.

 

You're presenting a false dilemma when saying that it's the only other option to get rid of the inventory. What I want is for inventory slots to be eradicated, gone completely, in every way. I want the inventory to be done similarly to Fallout New Vegas, KOTOR2, or any other inventory slotless RPG. There were still equipment slots, but inventory management (even with the carry weight limit of New Vegas) was a much simpler process that meant I wasted much less time in the menus.

Aaah yes. I knew we were going to get to this point. Slotless inventory. In other words, lets take the Infinity engine's already non-believable inventory system and make it even less believable by not even bothering to implement physical space.

 

Makes sense. Oh, and while we're at it, lets play nice and not call it what it is: DUMBING DOWN

Of course we were getting to this point. That was the point. I'm not sure you read my original post, honestly, because it seems like you just want to argue. It's not dumbing down, it's removing an irritating limitation and replacing it with something like carry weight, which is A: more believable, B: More fun than an arbitrary limit regardless of whether it's physically possible because it involves less work. I don't want a game to be work, I want it to be challenging from a combat perspective and a resource consumption perspective. When I spend a lot of the game in the inventory screen putzing around, it's not a feature of gameplay, it's just tedious, and distracts from what the gameplay is supposed to be. Anyway, I don't really need to continue responding to your posts if you're going to forego all pretense of discussion and just be condescending.

 

Feldoth, satanzchild, I would play the HECK outta that game.

[Review or Die]

I'm not sure how feasible having characters walk to a window to talk would be since a lot of PC-companion conversations (at least in the IE games) are timed and therefore can come up in almost any location. Maybe they could have a character walk away/not trigger if non-companion NPCs are within a certain radius of them or not mention such things in cities/towns, but ehh...

Shade, I forgot to address this... my point is that it would be nice if there were certain events that didn't occur everywhere, for roleplaying reasons and artistic ones. Roleplaying wise, I generally don't talk about childhood trauma in front of strangers, so if it's going to be done, it makes sense to do it in private. It would be nice if some events occurred at in inn locations, or when you're by the campfire, or just entering a specific area.

 

This last part was a side point, but it's the idea of having them actually walk away from you a few steps when they're upset, turn around to yell, that kind of thing. It's not a necessity, but it adds a little flavor amd depth to what's going on in a scene, if staging is a route Obsidian wants to take. There's a big difference between seeing the words "She turns from you" and coupling that with her actually doing it. It integrates things together better. And of course, all I'm suggesting is a few macro-level (not in the programming sense) movements to indicate placement of a character. But it's not something i'd consider necessary, just another way for information to be conveyed in a scene that I hope Obsidian will consider exploring, even if they say no. The only thing that matters to me in the game is for it to be able to tell its story as best as they possible can.

[Ignatius]

Ahhh! No! Don't get rid of the lovely inventory slots. I love, love, LOVE organizing my stuff with that system! Getting it all in the right place, in order, was always very satisfying for me. But I'm weird, I guess. FO: NV's inventory was fine, though, and I wouldn't be opposed to something like that. I just never found inventory management in any IE game to be a major problem.

 

More or less indifferent on your other points, as none of that stuff is exactly irksome or game breaking to me. Journal search parameters would be great, however.

Edited October 14, 2012 by Ignatius